President Harris Honored for Advancing Higher Education

Widener University President James T. Harris III recently received the Arthur V. Ciervo
Award from CUPRAP: The Association of Communicators in Education for his contributions
to higher education.CUPRAP presented Harris with the award during the organization's
annual conference in Hershey, Pa.

The award, which is named in honor of the founder and first president of CUPRAP, is
presented to a public relations professional, president, higher education advocate,
public official or outstanding faculty or staff member who exemplifies CUPRAP's fundamental
purposes of supporting and advancing the understanding of higher education.

In accepting the award, Harris said higher education is currently losing the public
relations battle in the public forum because the conversation about higher education
is focused on jobs, the economy and keeping costs low.

"Certainly, these outcomes are important on some level," Harris said. "But what we
have lost sight of is that the fundamental purpose of a college education should be
to produce fully engaged global citizens."

"The art of story-telling is what all of you do. A commitment to helping others, in
the true spirit of responsible citizenship, is what our institutions do. If we combine
those two elements, we will go a long way in advancing the understanding and support
of higher education."

Harris has dedicated his career to making colleges and universities agents of change
in their communities, utilizing innovation and collaboration to make a difference
in cities such as Chester, Pa. In his 11 years at Widener, Harris has transformed
the university into one of the nation's leading civic engagement universities, recognized
by Newsweek, Washington Monthly, the President's Higher Education Community Service
Honor Roll and the Carnegie Foundation.

In 2006, Harris and his colleagues at Widener took a bold, innovative step, launching
the state's first university based charter school—the Widener Partnership Charter
School.

In addition, Harris was the driving force in establishing the Chester Higher Education
Council, a consortium of presidents from colleges and universities in the region including
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Delaware County Community College, Neumann University,
Penn State-Brandywine, Swarthmore College and Widener. The council's efforts led to
the opening of the College Access Center of Delaware County which provides free college
preparation services to high school students and adults.

Under his leadership, the university has also launched the High School Leadership
Awards in conjunction with NBC 10 in Philadelphia. Through this program, high schools
in southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware nominate outstanding
student leaders from their schools. The winners are recognized by Widener and NBC
10 at an awards ceremony at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and receive
free leadership training at Widener.

Previous recipients of the Ciervo Award include former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford,
former Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker and Congressman Chaka Fattah, among others.

CUPRAP is a voluntary organization of communications professionals from colleges,
universities and independent schools dedicated to advancing the understanding of higher
education and enhancing the professional development of its members. CUPRAP members
work in public relations, media relations, marketing, publications, sports information,
web and graphic design, and more. Founded in Pennsylvania in 1980 as one of the nation's
few statewide organizations, CUPRAP members now come from many states. Today, CUPRAP
has nearly 350 members from 100 institutions.

Widener University is a private, metropolitan university that connects curricula to
social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal
attention, leadership development, and experiential learning are key components of
the Widener experience. A comprehensive doctorate-granting university, Widener is
comprised of eight schools and colleges that offer liberal arts and sciences and professional
and pre-professional curricula leading to associate's, baccalaureate, master's, and
doctoral degrees. The university's campuses in Chester, Exton, and Harrisburg, PA,
and Wilmington, DE, serve approximately 6,300 students. Widener is proud to be a tobacco-free
university. Visit the university's website, www.widener.edu, for more information.